Budget - how much is too much?

I have looked at several threads and have seen budgets ranging from $5,000 to $35,000 or higher. What is truly a realistic budget and how do you know that what you are getting is the best for your money? Some of the prices I see people quoting for photographers, resorts, etc...seem a bit much. I want to have a beautiful wedding, but given the economy, I don't want to spend everything on a wedding. Part of the idea behind the DW was to save money as this would be the honeymoon as well as the wedding.

Depending which country you decide on can affect prices and depends on the city in that country that you have the wedding can also affect prices... If you go with AI, it's going to be more expensive... some resorts offer free weddings and some you have to pay an additional cost for the wedding... there can be resort fees to bring in an outside photographer.... some resorts have a limited guests, over that you pay extra... some places require additonal fees for decorations...

You can have an affordable wedding, you just need to research the places the you like and weigh the options that best suit your needs.

I struggled with this too and there is no black and white answer. It's whatever you feel comfortable spending and how much is too much for you. Everything has a price and it's honestly not much different than planning a wedding at home when it comes to the extra "stuff" Small and simple I think is the best way to keep a budget in line.

I agree it's what's best for you. Some folks wouldn't bat an eye at paying $5k for a photographer, and some balk at it. ::shrug:: it's all relative eh?

The ladies above made some great points for when it comes to the "big" stuff. For smaller stuff, invites, gifts, favors etc. comparison shopping is super important because there's a wide margin on prices for the exact same product.

I'd say before you decide on number of people, you should find the budget that works for you FIRST. Good luck and happy planning!

You also can decide what's most important to you and what's least important. Some people (like myself) find the pictures the most important and worth spending money on. Flowers to me are less important as I'm getting married in a tropical area so I pick and choose what I spend money on and in other areas I cut out or find good deals for.

DIYing can (sometimes) save a lot of money and most of the time the purpose of a destination wedding is to save money and not have to invite everyone you know.

I'd pick a number that is the maximum you want to spend on your wedding and work within that. So for example if your wedding budget is $12,000 spending $5,000 on photography or a dress won't work.

You can then adjust your budget once you get in all the big necessary items like location/reception/food cost and adjust as you go along.

Your budget is something personal. It shouldn't be what other people's budgets are that doesn't make sense. But one piece of advice I have being that I've attended a lot of weddings in the last few years and noticed this, if you have a really small budget, and that is totally fine, don't invite 500 people to your wedding. Do something nice but with less people. Because then you have to go really cheap with everything and not even serve food or do cash bars and guests do not enjoy being starving and thirsty.

Also, I think being very realistic on what things are going to cost will help. And remembering all of the 'extra' things that will come about (shoes, ring bearer pillow, hair/makeup, just as a few). I started out with a very broad budget, then I got real and really focused on details. My budget instantly went up several thousand dollars, but there won't be any surprises later! (hopefully!)

I like the idea of creating a list of what is important to us. Also, I don't want a ton of people simply for the fact that the entire DW would be spent making small talk to way too many people and not actually enjoying anyone's company - one of the reasons why I like the DW is that you don't spend the entire time doing just that as you have quality time to spend with family and friends. I think I just find it overwhelming to start. It will come and I just need to take a deep breath and RELAX! Thanks everyone.

Writing down a budget is a great idea. Not only for setting goals but to keep track of everything. Research is important. Somethings should be bought, others it's just as easy to make. The more you know and plan for the better able you will be to stick to your budget. But like LadyTrunck said the more detailed the easier and more realistic it will be. I too like many others started at one number until I started to list things in more detail. But when researching make sure to check the fine print. Somethimes things that seem a great deal turn out not to be bcause they did not inlcude everything that was wanted and those things were extra. And the biggest thing I have learned since planning my wedding is that all things are negotiable. Even things in the stores. Especially if it is a smaller store (not chain) and you are buying more than one thing, or just something very expensive.